1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to vision systems, e.g., as deployed on a vehicle. In particular, this invention relates to tracking objects and detecting imminent collisions using stereo vision.
2. Description of the Related Art
Significant interest exists in the automotive industry for systems that detect imminent collisions in time to avoid that collision or to mitigate its damage. Collision avoidance systems typically must detect the presence of potential threats, determine their speed and trajectory, and assess their collision threat. Prior art collision avoidance systems have used radar to determine the range and closing speed of potential threats. However, affordable radar systems usually lack the required spatial resolution to reliably and accurately determine the size and the location of potential threats.
Since stereo vision can provide the high spatial resolution required to identify potential threats, stereo vision has been used in collision detection and avoidance systems. However, present collision detecting and avoidance systems are not capable of determining a classification of an object that is in danger of imminent collision. Without knowing the classification of an object, an avoidance system is not capable of providing safety measures that depend on the type of object that is in imminent danger of collision.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for new techniques of using stereo vision for collision detection and avoidance.